Business Immigration in a Minute by Honigman LLP

• The Department of State recently released the May 2022 Visa Bulletin.  In addition to the final action dates and dates for filing charts for employment-based immigrant visa and adjustment of status cases, it contains notes on the diversity visa category and DV-2022 results. Notably, EB-2 India dates for filing will advance by three months in May, whereas EB-3 India dates for filing dates will remain unchanged. Additionally, the final action dates will also remain virtually unchanged from last month, with the exception of EB-2 India, which will advance by approximately two months. All first employment-based preference countries of chargeability remain current for May. For May 2022, employment-based applicants must use the dates for filing chart for adjustment of status applications.
  
  
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced that it is extending its requirement that foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States from Canada or Mexico by land or ferry for all purposes, including essential and non-essential travel, attest to and provide proof as requested of full vaccination against COVID-19. U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and U.S. nationals are not subject to the vaccination requirement. Exceptions from this requirement exist for children under 18 years of age and individuals with certain medical conditions, among others. COVID-19 testing is not required to enter the United States via a land port of entry or ferry terminal.
  
  

• The Student and Exchange Visitor Program recently announced that it will extend the March 2020 guidance for F and M students for the 2022-2023 academic year. The guidance enables schools and students to engage in distance learning in excess of regulatory limits due to the continuing public health concerns created by COVID-19. The March 2020 guidance applies to nonimmigrant students who were actively enrolled at a U.S. school on March 9, 2020 and are otherwise complying with the terms of their nonimmigrant status, whether from inside the United States or abroad. Currently, this policy does not extend to any newly incoming students for the 2022-2023 academic year who will be enrolling in fully online programs in the United States. However, this guidance does apply to new students for the 2022-2023 academic year who will be enrolling in hybrid programs that include both in-person and online components in excess of the regulatory limits.
  
  

• On April 14, 2022, USCIS updated its H-1B Cap Registration Process webpage to note that more than 48,000 prospective petitioners submitted 483,927 registrations for the FY 2023 cap, of which 127,600 were selected in the initial lottery. Roughly 31% of eligible registrations requested consideration under the advanced degree exemption.

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